Hips changed to help the market

A change in the rules on Home Information Packs has highlighted Government fears that property has become almost impossible to sell.

Stalled market: only one home per week is being sold in London and the South East.

From October, the key part of the controversial packs, the Energy Performance Certificate, will be valid for three years rather than one.

It is a sign that Labour wants to avoid forcing cash-strapped homeowners to pay for two or even more £100 EPCs on a home which is stuck on the market.

The move comes as the housing market shows signs of being 'virtually paralysed', according to a report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Less than one home per week is being sold by estate agencies in London, the South-East and the South-West.

One RICS member said: 'There is almost no residential market.' Another said: 'It will be a lonely winter for agents.'

A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: 'With the change to three-year validity of Energy Performance Certificates we are providing the increased flexibility that many sellers were asking for.'